There are few activities so susceptible to the impacts of the macro environment as tourism. In conditions of growing uncertainty, the importance of strategic management is steadily increasing. By studying the environment, by anticipating the future development and implication of trends on enterprises, and by developing appropriate strategies at a number of levels, strategic management seeks to actively influence the increase o f competitive advantages o f both the tourist destinations and tourist enterprises. The term “strategic management” implies a set of management decisions and actions that determine the long-term operations o f enterprises within the management system of tourism: guiding the enterprise by anticipating crucial environmental impacts and internal factors. This management concept is based on the assumption that making properly oriented strategic decisions minimizes the negative effects of the environment and creates strategic advantages for enterprises that can be capitalised only in the medium and long term (Čizmar S. (2001) Strateško upravljanje u funkciji učinkovitog razvoja turističkog ugostiteljstva u Hrvatskoj, doctoral dissertation, University o f Zagreb, Faculty of Economics, Zagreb, p. 3). It represents an integrated approach to strategic management that is the most acceptable for the development of Croatian tourism, as long-term positive results, in both market and financial terms, can be achieved by enterprises within the tourism management system of Croatia only by applying an integrated approach to strategic management, by horizontally and vertically linking the elements of all subsystems of the entire management system and by creating partnering relationships. The Croatian model of strategic management should involve the economic optimisation of all subsystems and systems by establishing efficiency not only across all subsystem elements, but through the system as a whole as well. The level of growth in entrepreneurship and innovations will determine the intensity and speed of positive development changes. These changes will also depend on establishing management responsibilities throughout all segments and managements levels of all subsystems, as well as tourism as an integral system. This paper deals with the issues of strategic management at a micro level with special emphasis on the development of responsibility for managing performance and capital investments.
CONCEPTUAL MODEL OF THE RESTAURANT ENTERPRISE STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
